Saving the Environment: Beyond Economic Materialism

Grassroots and public policy efforts to thwart on-going systematized environmental destruction will continue to fail, as long as a climate of 'economic materialism' prevails.

Indeed, the idea that Canada, in the context of "Western industrialized society", is some sort of "neutral" secularized state, is a popular myth. The dominant embraced civil "religion" of Canada, has become in fact, the 'worship' of the trappings of conspicuous consumption, and of those who have acquired it.

Consequences of Free Trade and Economic Globalization

Canada has been substantively de-evolving from the apparent mercenary business culture associated with tandem of so-called "Free Trade" and "Globalization". The culture of so-called "Free Trade" and "Globalization" is undermining the spiritually inspired social governing context of Canada. Our spiritually inspired socially governing context, as shown, for example, by universal public healthcare championed by the Reverend Tommy Douglas, (and a corresponding popular appreciation of the potentially creative and constructive role of government), has kept Canada's overall quality-of-living above the United States.

Indigenous knowledge toward a more sophisticated society

The protection of the environment will critically depend upon the extent to which the prevailing values of human beings moves beyond crass materialism. Indigenous cultures in Canada, and abroad, have historically embraced such a sophisticated appreciation of the environment, beyond such an 'economic materialism'.

What is economic materialism?

The prevailing culture of a society which embraces 'economic materialism', is that the environment is simply a resource to be exploited for personal commercial-equivalent profit, and self-aggrandizement. In such a milieu, human beings perceive themselves to be technologically advanced. However, their attitude to the environment, makes them barbaric, venal, and primitive creatures. Only a truly primitive creature with sentience sentient, that allows for technological sophistication, would threaten its own survival, by destroying their own habitat. Economic materialism, has fostered such a culture of joint primitiveness and sentience where human beings assimilate self-destructive, and essentially egotistical attitudes void of personal and social responsibility to other human beings. A prevailing culture where people compete to create and acquire superficial trappings of materialistic success that they can display and show-off on one another, in the process has created a milieu for on-going systematized environmental destruction.

Wage Slavery and Wasteful Consumption

Economic materialism, as the prevailing value of society, leads to wasteful patterns of apparent "over-consumption". Such patterns of apparent "over-consumption" leads to pollution, smog, ensuing social malaise, and to the overall devastation of fragile and interdependent ecosytems.

Correspondingly, economic materialism as the prevailing value of society, is accompanied by largely unfulfilling jobs, as destructive to the individual's well-being, as the operation are to the environment. The result of people having to work in such jobs, where human agents service their own collective exploitation, is a condition of "wage slavery". The concept of "wage slavery" is further elaborated in the book entitled Quantuum Economics: Wage Slavery or the Quality-of-Life? Choices in "the New Economy".

Alternatives to Economic Materialism

A socially progressive alternative to an economy which produces "wage slavery" and corresponding environmental destruction, is an economy which embraces 'Human Development'. In our envisioned 'Human Development' context, the economy facilitates a milieu where human beings can focus on working as operations in association with other human beings that enrich their lives, and that contribute to the development of 'healthy' communities. In such a milieu, jobs are created in concert with the nurturing the human rights of people, and with protecting such vital features as non-polluted water, clean air, protected forests, bio-diversity in general, and overall thriving, vibrant ecosystems.

The shortcomings of "sustainable development"

Activists, advocates, and scholars who focus on environmental conservation, have turned to "sustainable development" embraced by the Kyoto Accord, to save the planet. However, the problem is that "sustainable development" falls well short of the necessary development of a culture which spontaneously seeks to safeguard fragile ecosytems. Why? "Sustainable Development" essentially does not go beyond the very apparent 'economic materialism' which sets-off 'economic development' objectives against desirable environmental conservation. In effect, "sustainable development" is little more than a paradigm of "lesser greed", instead of "more greed". However, why should those who embrace "greed" sell themselves short, and simply accept, for example, a million dollar profit, while they could get ten times that, by destroying all ecosystems in sight? A paradigm of "lesser greed" will eventually give way to "more greed", in a milieu of economic materialism, under the austere pressures of capitalistic market competition.

Living and Safeguarding the Environment, "Whom am I?"

Is living a contest between individuals to seek largely unfulfilling income opportunities, in order to secure material possessions? Safeguarding the environment in Canada, and internationally, will be substantively contingent upon human agents asking the question, "Who am I?" If we as Canadians, and as human beings, collectively make the assessment that life pivots on the accumulation of material possessions, then, human civilization will continue along its apparent self-destructive path. However, environmental protection will be facilitated by an enlightened cultural context where we, as Canadians, and human beings, can go beyond an apparent dehabilitating 'economic materialism'. Such a milieu of human understanding, and of empathy which embraces the extended human family; and the environment, as their "common endowment", will begin to explore such questions as "who am I?", "Where did I come from?", and "Where am I going?"

As long as the human species limits itself to a prevailing economic materialism, under the Social Darwinistic orientation of "Economic Globalization", human beings will continue to engage in the short-sighted and reckless destruction of fragile and interdependent ecosystems.

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